This invention relates to safety barriers. More particularly, it refers to a portable safety barrier mounted along a roof edge or other precipice to prevent a person from falling off the roof or precipice.
Workman compensation claims made by employees in the roofing industry are one of the highest in industry. Many of these claims are a direct result of falling from a roof. Safety barriers are customarily not used on roof edges because of the difficulty of mounting them and the high cost of safety barriers together with the difficulty of removing them after a job is completed.
Attempts have been made in the past to construct roof safety barriers to prevent workers from falling off a precipice. One example is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,131. An upright post is spaced from an edge of a roof and clamped at a base portion to a rafter. L-shaped guard rail receiving members are movable with respect to the post. Another example is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,483. An upright post is supported by hinge arms connected to a base which is located perpendicular to a bottom of the post. Still another example is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,451. A roof attachment plate is located perpendicular to the bottom of an upright support beam. An angle adjustment brace connects the support beam to the roof attachment plate. Other guard rails are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,787,475; 4,979,725; 5,314,167; 5,431,372; 5,711,398; 5,842,685; 6,038,829; 6,039,150 and 6,053,281.
Although the guard rails in the above described prior art patents serve their intended purpose, they do not provide a simple, easily attachable and detachable safety barrier. Such a safety barrier is needed.
This invention solves the described problem by providing a simple, inexpensive, easily mountable and demountable safety barrier for use along or on the edge of a roof or other precipice.
The safety barrier has a row of posts, spaced apart, each post pivotably mounted vertically on a first base plate. Each post has multiple spaced apart transverse bores through opposed sides and multiple L-shaped brackets on at least one vertical side. The first base plate is affixed to a surface of a building or bridge abutting an edge overlooking a precipice. A triangular brace supports the post in an upright position. The triangular brace has a second base plate affixed to a surface of the building or bridge inwardly from the edge and the post. A converging pivoting arm connects each end of the second base plate to the post. A safety rope can connect the posts through the transverse bores or 2xc3x974 wood can be mounted on the L-shaped brackets or mesh can be mounted over the same bracket to create a barrier. The second base plate is longitudinally parallel to the rope, wood or mesh to provide the required support for the post.